To a soldier of the great war. I do not know you but I would have liked to have known you. My paternal grandfather, John Elson Carpenter, served with the Somerset Light Infantry in the war and lost his life on 23/03/1918 at St. Quentin, Northern France. He is also one of the missing and is commemorated at the Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France. He came from the Isle of Wight. I am reminded of the War Horse Story - Warrior, a horse that was born and bred on the Isle of Wight and the mount of General Jack Seely. He was shipped off to the western front in 1914. He was dubbed the ' horse the Germans couldn't kill ' having survived some of the war's most famous conflicts including battles at Ypres (1915), the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele in 1917. At the Battle of Moreuil Wood in 1918 Warrior became lame and Seely was gassed. While his owner was invalided home, Warrior saw the war out and they were reunited in 1918. Upon his return to the Isle of Wight, Warrior was something of a local hero. It's a remarkable tale of survival: eight million other horses and mules did not return from the front. In 2014, he was posthumously awarded the PDSA Dickin medal, recognised as the animals' Victoria Cross. As a horseman I am sure that you would appreciate this story. You nobly gave your life so that future generations could live theirs. We owe you a great debt of gratitude which we will never be able to repay. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE! " At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them."

Barry Carpenter